With the recent fuel crisis in the United States it has become desirable to have available an alternate source of heating for basements, garages, or small workshops. The traditional "pot-bellied stove" and the like have been used for this purpose over many years of effective use and no doubt they will continue to be used. However, its heating capacity is not particularly efficient and this invention is designed to burn all of the conventional solid fuels to give a greatly increased efficiency in operation. Properly used, the heater of this invention will greatly reduce the amount of fuel consumed by existing conventional systems and will serve to give minimum heat during temporary stoppages of the conventional system.